Ending the series on a dud note, X-Men: Dark Phoenix proves to be an annoying bore of a movie, filled with wooden performances and none of the spirit or stakes that this innovative superhero franchise once had.
A superhero movie can be many things, but it should not be dull. That is exactly what X-Men: Dark Phoenix proves to be. While many lambast X-Men: The Last Stand for its handling of the “Dark Phoenix Saga” comic book storyline (of which this movie is also based on), at least that film had personality and memorable action set pieces. All …Dark Phoenix represents is the final nail in a franchise weighed down of late by poor filmmaking and worse casting.
Set after the events of X-Men: Apocalypse, the film begins with Professor Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) revelling in the good PR of saving the world. When the President of the United States turns to the X-Men to rescue a NASA mission gone pear shaped, Xavier convinces his not so merry group of mutant heroes – among them Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Beast (Nicholas Hault), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan) and Jean Grey (Sophie Turner) – to rescue the stranded astronauts. Instead they find themselves face to face with a new threat, as Jean Grey is embedded with a cosmic force that untaps her extremely powerful and unpredictable nature with deadly consequences for all.
As written and directed by Simon Kinberg, X-Men: Dark Phoenix presents itself as a stake’s filled superhero movie, yet fails to raise even the faintest of pulses. Although headlined by charismatic talents such as James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Michael Fassbender, this 11th entry in a once exciting and relevant X-Men film franchise has the personality of a lobotomised clown: all colour and spark on the outside, but nothing within.
Sophie Turner as Jean Grey could be mistaken for a piece of timber, so wooden her turn as the films central character, whose inner battle between the woman others have shaped her to be versus the all-powerful ethereal force she is transforming into, just not translating to film. Jessica Chastain is worse as the main villain, a manipulative alien who comes across as neither intimidating nor memorable, Chastain opting for a wide-eyed laborious dull approach to a forgettable character that brings nothing to the proceedings.
Kingberg’s take on this X-Men movie is interesting as he was also writer and producer of the disastrous Fantastic Four reboot, which in many ways parallels with Dark Phoenix regarding tone and an adept handle on action scenes. Half the time the films characters are grimacing as if they are constipated, with battles of invisible superpower warfare more awkward than exciting.
The whole enterprise is extraordinarily vanilla in the dullest and eye rolling of ways. What was once a great superhero film series has become a retread of the bad superhero movies that plagued comic book movie fans for too long. They and everyone else deserve better.
